Santuary
by Rie fan
Summary: When Johan comes back from a long and sorrowful battle, he longs for peace and there is only one person that can give it to him. One-shot. Very fluffy and romantic. Just a warning.


**Hello! So this is my first Smurfs story so hope you enjoy! **

**By the way, Emily is an OC created by my friend and I a while back in 2011. Now that she is finally appearing for the first time on , I'd like to explain things about her.**

**Emily was a teenage girl who died when Gargamel accidentally pushed her into a river. She died of a concussion when she hit her head on a rock. However, God decided that her time hasn't come so he brought her back to the world, just not in her usual form. **

**She became a half-spirit. Her skin had a blue hue to it, her dirty blond hair showed stripes of blue from where the blood stains used to be. The only thing that didn't change were her hazel eyes. Because she was just a half-spirit, she can only be human for three hours, around the time that she died.**

**Her appearance scared off many villagers at first and she was alone living in the forest. However, because of the disturbances, Johan and Peewit (mostly Johan) decided to find the 'beast'. The 'beast' they were looking for was just a frightened and confused girl... **

**They decided to help her and brought her to the castle which soon became her home. Soon enough, all of them became the best of friends (maybe even a bit more than that for Johan and her). They trained her with her new abilities to fight on their adventures and she also lived a life as an entertainer for the King. Emily had the voice of a siren, it was always like that, even before she died. Sometimes her ghostly abilities can seep into her voice, but that's only if she wants it to.**

**Soon enough Johan and Emily found out that their attraction to each other wasn't just friendship and they fell in love. **

**This leads to the story we have now. It takes place in the future (even though it's STILL in the Middle Ages) when Johan comes back from battle.**

**Enjoy. **

* * *

In the darkness of the night, the wind sang a lonely song. A song that told of sorrow and the death before the peace. The air was foreshadowing but gave off an off calming feel.

Slowly through the calming midnight, a horse strolled through the silent town with his owner, his companion. Their footsteps dragged along the dirty path, none of it mattered though; it was better than the murky scarlet blood of their enemies.

The things he's seen.

The things they've seen.

It was all sorrowful and gut wrenching. The man closed his eyes, wishing he could just open them and see the dawn appear with all those memories forgotten. He knew it wasn't to be though.

With a heavy heart, he sighed.

It was better he'd seen those things than someone else, like someone who couldn't handle such haunting thoughts, someone…like a child.

However, he felt as if he was still a child, one with a will of steel and a brave heart.

Sometimes his pride would get the better of him, and while his heart and mind pressed on to fight, his body ached for rest. It was times like these, however, when his body, heart, and mind ached for rest and peace.

So he did what he always did. He followed his heart to lead him home.

Unlike his fellow knights, he didn't return to the castle to be praised by the King and his loving niece. This was the last thing on his mind.

All he desired was a warm embrace, a beautiful voice for his tranquility, and to feel the love from his dearest.

A crack of a smile grazed his lips as he kept thinking of the greatest reward he could ever achieve after a battle; the reward of love and affection by the woman who held his heart.

It wasn't long before he approached a familiar looking cottage.

He tied Beyard to a post next to the door before entering the home of his lover.

It wasn't his place of residence, but she was his home.

The tired man was almost dazed and in a trance. He went down the familiar hallways and went up the stairs to a room. All the while, he stripped himself of his heavy gear, weaponry, and the blood stained over clothing until he was left with a thin yellow tunic and red pants.

They were the only things not stained by his sins.

He stopped when he came to a door, her door. He slowly entered the room and was shocked to see her beauty in the moonlight sitting near the windowsill. Her feminine figure was unreal, yet soft looking. Her skin was a blue hue while her eyes were a striking hazel. The tiredness shown in her eyes and it dulled them a bit. They were still beautiful, nonetheless. She looked out the window with her hands in her lap. She wore a silk white night-gown with a light blue ribbon at the collar, her favorite color. She sat in that quirky way of hers, with her legs semi-gracefully crossed.

She was breathtaking.

He didn't want to disturb her, but his longing for her overtook his hesitancy. Lightly, he tapped the entrance of the door with his knuckle.

He jumped a bit when she turned around and screamed in surprise.

Shaking him out of his daze, it was an unpleasant wake up call.

He paced to her and tried to calm her down.

"Emily? Emily, it's only me. I'm so sorry about the rude entrance."

The girl chuckled a bit. There were tears in her eyes.

"It's okay Johan, I'm just really jumpy at three in the morning…wait, Johan?"

Her eyes widened as she processed the significance of whom she was speaking to.

"Johan! You're here! Now! Alive-"

He cut her short with his finger pressed onto her lips.

He smiled, "I'm excited to be home too, dearest. But we can always celebrate my return tomorrow. I just want to cherish this right now."

She nodded in complete understanding.

Without another word, she led him to the bed.

He noticed that next to her bed was a bowl of water and a towel. Emily took the towel and wet it a bit before gently washing his face with it. Now she could clearly see his face unlike before. Then again, he looked handsome either way.

She then started on his hands. Compared to hers, his hands were very large. They were rough and calloused. She deduced this ruggedness was due to hard training and battle. Emily washed his palms and the towel gently grazed over callouses. His hands were strong, firm, and rough, but they wouldn't hurt a fly unless they had to.

Once she was done washing away the dirt, Johan suddenly gathered her petite body in a firm embrace. Emily was surprised at the action, but soon enough she embraced him back.

Her arms weren't long enough to reach all the way around his body, so she laid her hands peacefully on his upper back. She began to play with the ends of his raven hair and draw circles on his back with her thumbs. She knew he needed the comfort.

Johan's head was buried in the crook of her neck. He sighed when he felt her hands on his back and pulled away a little. He moved her hair away from her face and gave her a sweet kiss on her forehead.

"It's been so long love." He paused. "Please, sing for me."

His ears stilled ached with the cries of his fallen comrades and enemies. All he wanted was an escape to serenity.

He moved a bit and lay his head on her shoulder as she sang a calming tune. _Lullay, myn lykyng_. It was a beautiful song, a lullaby. He remembered it to be popular and was sung to kids to get them to sleep. It was so soothing to hear it again, especially from her lips. She had the voice of a siren.

Mesmerizing.

The atmosphere was tranquil. Out from the corner of his eye he saw the flickering of the candlelight on the stool next to the bowl of water. He kept his eyes on it while she kept singing.

After the tiring weeks of being away from everything, from the kingdom, the princess, the king, Emily, Peewit, it was nice to feel safe again. He realized that safety was something that some people, people like him, took for granted. And once it was taken away, they longed for it like a man without water in the desert.

Johan hugged Emily a bit harder to make sure none of it was just another dream. He wanted to make sure she was real and not just a ghost from the battlefield. Yes, she was a ghost too, but the ones he encountered were untouchable, fake, and a figment of his imagination. To his relief, she wasn't a dream.

"Is there something wrong?" Emily just finished her song to realize the change in pressure around her waist.

"Nothing's wrong dear. I just… wanted to see if you were actually here…"

Emily gave Johan a peck on the lips, "Johan, go to sleep… the Sun's about to rise and I think you've been through enough for the past while…"

Johan did as she said but not before bringing her down with him.

Only centimeters apart, he murmured, "Will you be there when I wake?"

She only smiled in return, "Until the end, dearest."

He closed his eyes. He couldn't ask for a better place to be in, not even in his own bed. To him, this was home.

She was his sanctuary.

* * *

**So I hope you liked it!**

**Have a smurfy day and I don't own the Smurfs and Johan (or Emily She's my friend's character I only developed her into what she is today... XD).**


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